


Reassuring Pressure

by Closeted_Calliope



Category: Raggedy Ann & Andy - All Media Types
Genre: Domestic Fluff, Emotional Hurt/Comfort, Established Relationship, Hurt/Comfort, LOOK i read this in a comic once and it was real sweet so, M/M, Panic Attacks, Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder - PTSD, i mean the comic im stealing it from was gay too but, now i'm stealing that idea to make into my own gay shit, now it's about gay little ragdolls ig
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-03-02
Updated: 2021-03-02
Packaged: 2021-03-14 17:27:37
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,355
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29795358
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Closeted_Calliope/pseuds/Closeted_Calliope
Summary: The thing about war is that it never really leaves you. Clem's known that for years now. Dealing with the trauma hasn't gotten much easier either.Having a boyfriend that's willing to be a weighted blanket of sorts does help things a little bit though
Relationships: Raggedy Andy/Uncle Clem
Comments: 16
Kudos: 31





	Reassuring Pressure

**Author's Note:**

> OK SO LOOK. My buddy Leo (kind-little-fella on tumblr, if you're reading this fic you probably know him) drew a joke thing in the raggedy server a while back, and it ended up reminding me of a really sweet moment in a comic i read forever ago (it was Check, Please! for those curious) and i just had to write a little thing, i just had to. If y'all follow the events of my other Clandy fic, this takes place after the events of that fic, like they're already in love at this point, btw. Hope y'all enjoy!!!!

Clem awoke with tears in his eyes, his heart pounding so hard he could've sworn it was about to burst out of his chest.

He was dying.

He'd never been so sure of anything in his entire life.

It was all flooding into him all at once; the war, the horrible, terrible things he'd seen, what happened to Jack...... 

The thoughts forced themselves out of his throat in a shuddering gasp.

In his state of pure panic, he managed to push himself up in the bed, clutching the front of his nightshirt and trying to force air inside of his lungs. But as he took a choked breath, it was like he swallowed overwhelming dread instead of oxygen.

His mind raced, barely able to focus on one train of thought, when suddenly something warm and soft brushed up against his hand.

He turned, almost afraid that it was a false comfort.

It was Andy, fast asleep on his side, his hand subconsciously reaching out to grab Clem's hand.

Clem's hand worked before his mind could catch up, grabbing Andy's shoulder and shaking him a bit. "A-Andy?" He croaked, trying not to focus on how his voice broke.

Andy just stirred a little in his sleep, mumbling something incoherent under his breath.

Clem shook him a bit harder, a bit more desperately, practically begging, "Andy, _please_."

Andy's eyes slowly blinked open. "Clem? Wha.... what's wrong?"

"Andy.... I'm sorry but-"

"Woah, hey, what's wrong?" At the sight of Clem looking utterly distraught, his sleepiness disappeared as he sat up, eyes glued to his boyfriend. "What do you need me to do?"

This wasn't an uncommon occurrence. Though Clem was really getting more and more comfortable and happy living in the playroom with everyone, but that didn't make the years and years of trauma and suffering he faced during the war all those years ago just disappear. Though it never seemed to really get any less severe, it was a little easier to deal with when Andy helped walk him through the process.

As the tears trailed down Clem's cheeks, he managed to stutter out shakily, "I d-didn't want to wake you but, uh, can you do th-the thing? Please?"

"Yeah, yeah, of course," Andy assured him, getting up off the bed and starting to get into position. 

After the first few times Clem woke Andy up to help him with his panic attacks, Andy had a suggestion. Marcella's mom had gotten a weighted blanket a while back that he'd heard her mention a few times to her adult friends, whenever Marcella was forced to tag along during errands and the like, that it helped her feel more safe and secure. 

So naturally, Andy decided that it would likely be beneficial to Clem if he had some sort of pressure on top of him to help keep him grounded to reality.

Of course, they didn't make weighted blankets in doll size, so the next best option was to use...... well, Andy himself, sitting on Clem's lap.

Andy climbed into Clem's lap, barely getting a chance to wrap his legs around Clem's waist before he wrapped his arms around him tightly, grasping handfuls of Andy's nightshirt in his shaking hands.

Andy just sighed sadly and returned the hug. Since he was fabric, being held so tightly didn't exactly hurt. What did hurt, though, was the way Clem shuddered with his whole body as he sobbed into his shoulder.

Clem cried and cried with his every fiber of his being as his brain sent painful reminder after painful reminder of all the horrible things he'd seen. It was like someone was choking him as he was forced to relive all the awful events he lived through.

Tears welled up in his own eyes. He knew he couldn't fix Clem's pain, and that he was doing the best he could to help him through it, but still hurt so bad knowing Clem was hurting and he couldn't make him feel better.

So he just held him, stroking his back gently, whispering soothing words in hopes that they did something, anything, to end his suffering.

They sat there, wrapped up in each other's arms, crying, for what felt like, and very well might have been, hours. But slowly, surely, Clem's sobs grew a little less severe, and he was able to breathe a little easier. Andy continued to rub his back, knowing the worst of it was over, but also that Clem was still going to need love and support for a good while longer.

".....I'm sorry," Clem mumbled into Andy's shoulder, the first words he'd spoken since Andy got into position, his voice strained from all the crying.

Andy furrowed his eyebrows, pulling Clem in just a little bit tighter. "Why? You have nothing to be sorry for, my dear, you did nothing wrong."

"I always do this though; I'll wake you up in the dead of night and force you to do this," he hiccuped turning his head away. "You deserve better than this."

"Now wait just a minute," Andy said, almost defensive as he pulled away from Clem just enough to cup his face in his hands, forcing his boyfriend to look at him.

"You have never forced me to do _anything_ that I wouldn't do anyway. I help you because I love you, Clem, not because I feel like I'm obligated to. Besides, I know if it ever came to it, you'd do the same thing for me."

"But-"

"But nothing. You are one of the most important people in the whole world to me. If you need me, I wanna make sure I'm doing everything I can to make you feel safer, even if it means waking up in the middle of the night and sitting on you while you cry."

Though tears still spilled from his own eyes, Clem couldn't help but chuckle a little at that. "You know, I don't think you needed to say it like that, _mo grà_."

Andy smiled. "I know, but i knew it would get you to laugh."

Clem leaned forward and pressed his forehead to Andy's. "My darling boy," he started, barely above a whisper, "how on earth did I get so lucky as to have someone as perfect as you in my life?"

"I could ask the same about you," Andy mumbled back with a smirk, pulling back just enough to press a quick kiss to Clem's forehead. 

They stayed like that for a little while longer. The longer Clem stayed in Andy's arms, it became much easier to breathe again, his heart slowed down to a reasonable level, his eyes dried up, and things began to feel okay again.

Then, once he'd finally come down completely from the aftermath of his panic attack, he whispered into Andy's ear, "Thank you, Andy. For everything."

"Of course." Andy nuzzled up into the crook of Clem's neck. "Feelin' better?"

"Very much, yes."

"Then whaddya say we head back to bed?"

Clem smiled softly. "I think I'd like that very much."

He allowed Andy to climb off him and underneath the bedsheets. As he snuggled up beside him, he felt Andy wrap his arms around his torso.

"What are you doin' there, sweetheart?" Clem asked, raising an eyebrow in amusement.

"Just making sure the bad thoughts don't come back," Andy replied, smiling almost mischievously. "I'm gonna keep you safe all night."

Clem couldn't help but snort at that. "My hero."

"Love you~," Andy sing-songed, looking up at Clem with a big excited grin.

Clem rolled his eyes, but still took one of Andy's hands and pressed a kiss to his mitts. "Love you too."

As Andy snuggled up into Clem's chest, Clem couldn't help but sigh in content.

Things weren't always easy, in fact a lot of the time they were just the opposite, but having someone to help you through the hard stuff helped a lot.

And as Clem drifted off to sleep once more, one lone though bounced around in his head.

He was going to be okay.

He'd never been so sure of anything in his entire life.

**Author's Note:**

> YEAH OKAY SO I HOPE Y'ALL LIKED. I wish I could've made this longer but also didn't want it to needlessly pad it out lol. Regardless, I had a lot of fun writing this! Hopefully I'll be able to work on my main clandy fic more now lol. See y'all next time!!!
> 
> -CC


End file.
